Welcome to the Arena
by wrowe537
Summary: Based off the concept presented in Unreal Tournament 2004, a average person is given the opportunity of the lifetime, to join the tournaments held by Liandri Corporation. This version has a preliminary tournament similar to the beginning part of the Single Player.
1. Chapter 1

This is the greatest day of anyone who ever dreamed of being in the tournament. For the first time in history the Liandri Corporation was allowing anyone to sign up as a contestant in a new amatuer circuit, and whoever won the amatuer tournament was given a shot at the Unreal Tournament. All they had to do was win every match the entered and then secure a sponsor for the real was the shot a man who will come to be known as Ares was looking for.

Ares was a typical citizen, he went to work then came home to his dull life. But every chance he got he was watching whatever he could about the tournament. He was raised by his father who was a ex-tournament champion. Unfortunately his father, Andrew, was banned and relinquished of the win due to a infraction on the drug policy in the arena. So no one knew about it since it was so well covered up. Ares thought it was the perfect way to bring his family name into the limelight of tournament fame. He signed up as soon as he could.

"Sir, before you enter the amatuer circuit you need to pass a simple physical and weapons proficiency test." Ares acknowledged the nameless tournament employee and walked towards the room he was told to enter. _This is really happening, I'm going to join the tournament._ As soon as he entered the exam room Ares saw a very angry looking doctor in front of him. "Take off your clothes. I need to make sure you're physically capable of withstanding the arena." The doctor impatiently stood watch as Ares stripped down to nothing. The doctor grunted and then said "You seem to be in pretty good shape for being an accountant at some small town firm." Ares just chuckled and replied with "There's a lot of steps in the building. I do a lot of cardio."

"Well in any event, physically you are the most promising of the contestants I've seen. Well except for Kennedy. Anyway you can proceed to the next room….and I suggest you put your pants back on before proceeding." and then the doctor went into what looked like a small office. Ares put his clothes back on and started to head towards the next room. _Kennedy? Who the hell is he?._ Upon opening the door to the next room Ares was greeted with a barrage of gunshots and random explosions bombarding his eardrums. "Hey asshat! Get your ass over here before you get yourself shot!" came from the scantily clad woman a few feet away from Ares. _Holy shit, that's Zarina!_ Ares stumbled over to Zarina before noticing the table covered with weapons. "So you want to join the tournament huh? Well you're going to need to know how to use at least one of these beautiful pieces of machinery. So which one speaks to you pencil pusher?" _Hmm which one should I try first?_ By some force that can't be explained Ares was immediately drawn to the Flak Cannon. Zarina steps closer and smiles, "Ah, the Flak Cannon….What a elegant piece of weaponry. You know it was nicknamed the negotiator by the people who produced it? But I personally like to call it the gutter." Ares picks up the weapon and bounces it around in his hands feeling how it felt in his hands. _Damn this feels good. It just feels like an extension of my body._ Ares shoulders the gun and realizes it has no sights on it to aim with. "You're better off holding it at your hip. The things isn't designed to be accurate, but to simply put holes in whatever you point it at. Go try it in the battle emulation room." Ares steps into the battle emulation with an air of confidence that he never felt before. The well known announcer's voice boomed overhead "Match Begins in 5….4…." Zarina's voices covers the announcers in Ares' ear, "Hey I'll be talking to you through the comms network throughout the match. By the way that gun you're holding has two fire modes. The first is a shotgun like spread that shoots shrapnel all over the place. It's activated by just pulling the trigger. The second fire mode is an arcing grenade that explodes on impact. You can use it by pressing the button under the front end of the gun. Good luck and don't ruin my precious cannon asshole!"


	2. Chapter 2

The battle emulations begins and the virtual battlefield comes to life around Ares. "The VR systems can be slightly disorienting that first time in. But you might want to get used to it quickly because you're not the only with a gun in there." Zarina's voice buzzed in his ear. _Alright, time to test this cannon out._ Ares starts to walk around and quickly recognizes the layout. It was his favorite arena to watch and so he knew every vantage point and deadly corridor in the place. He immediately went towards one of the best vantage points to see where the enemies were. He immediately notices that there is only one other combatant in the arena with him Unfortunately, the A.I. he was facing notices also and fires a rocket towards Ares. Ares immediately took cover behind a small wall and was peppered with rubble when the rocket hit it. _Wow...Rocket launcher, that means I'm going to have to move closer as fast as I can to use my weapon effectively. All while dodging rockets._ The A.I. is getting closer when Zarina buzzes in again on the comm in Ares' ear. "Hey pal, I don't know if you realize this, but you're supposed to use the thing you're holding to fire back at. So get your head out of your ass and do something." After checking around the wall he's hiding behind Ares tarts to run towards the last position he saw his enemy in and hear the beeping of the rocket launcher's lock on feature kicking in. _Oh shit. He's got me locked! Now what the hell am I supposed to do?_ The noise of the rocket leaving the launcher alerts Ares of the location of his enemy but it isn't much help if he doesn't find a way to avoid being blown to bits. At the last second Ares ducks under the rocket's trajectory and then bolts towards where he saw the rocket came and starts lobbing grenade shots and hoping the shrapnel hits something moving. He turns the corner and sees some blood running down his enemy's arm and that both of their legs are completely gone. "Wow you really know how to use that cannon in a heated situation. Now finish of your opponent so we can get you out of their." Zarina says over the comm, but there is something strange in her voice, almost like she lost her typical arrogance. Ares simply walks up to the wounded individual in front of him and puts the flak cannon against their head and pulls the trigger, sending shards through them before the VR system shuts down. Zarina walks in and looks at Ares for a moment before saying "Holy shit. I have never seen someone so ruthless in the arena and execute with so little emotion. And that's impressive since I've literally got my ass kicked by a giant robot." Ares steps towards her and shrugs "Hey, you told me to do something. I'm joining this tournament to win, not make friends. Emotions are useless against a rocket launcher. Can I go now?" Zarina scoffs and waves towards the door, "Sure go ahead and leave. You'll get word if you got in or not within a couple days. Ares headed home and as soon as he walked in the door to his house he heard his phone ringing. He walked over and picked it up, expecting it to be his friend asking how the whole thing went. "Hello? This is Ares." The voice that responded was familiar but for reasons Ares couldn't explain. "Yes this is a representative for Liandri Corporation calling to let you know that you've been selected as a participant for the amateur circuit of Unreal Tournament. Congratulations!" "What? Are you serious? I was selected that quickly?" Ares started walking towards his bedroom to pack a bag just in case it was real. "Yes sir, we have a recruitment officer watching each of the entries VR battles and whoever was watching yours was extremely impressed. So much so that they told us we had to skip the rest of the process to make sure we can get you on board as soon as we could. We are forwarding a small signing bonus to your account now. Use that to find a way to the location I will be sending you after this call ends." Ares starts heading out the door and simply replies "Yes ma'am, I will be there as quickly as I can." _I'm in to tournament. I can't believe this is happening._


	3. Chapter 3

Ares arrives at the training facility for the tournament early in the morning the next day. Upon entrance he is greeted by a very petite blonde. "Hello Ares, my name is Sapphire. I will be your agent of sorts. I will be the one tasked with scheduling your arena times and making sure you get ample time to train for your fights." She grabs Ares' bag off his shoulder and starts walking away down a hallway. Ares decides that's a sign to follow her and so he does. "What do you mean agent? I thought I was just here to earn a spot on the real tournament circuit?" Sapphire smiles at Ares, "Oh I do love the innocence of those new to the sport. You see you don't just get to do whatever you want around here. You have to negotiate when and where each fight you take part in will be. Since I doubt you have much experience in negotiating I was put with you." Ares mulls this over before replying to her. "So why are you the one stuck with me? Because I haven't seen anyone else here yet." They reach a door that Sapphire opens using a keycard to unlock the door, "Well the rest of the amatuer circuit has been selected yet. They won't be for at least 2 more days when the actual selection process is over. So when I found out there was a contestant that was chosen before the selection process….. Let's just say I had to have you." Sapphire steps into the room and throws Ares' bag onto the bed then turns to face Ares. "Well this is your room while you're here. It's not much but it will work. There is a map of the building on the desk over there, and if you have any questions ask anyone you see and they will more than happy to help. Have a great day!" Sapphire exits the room leaving Ares alone. _So I'm the only one who was chosen early? What's so special about me?_ Ares focuses on the room and realizes it is pretty basic. There is a bed with a very thin blanket and a pillow that looks like it is filled with a brick, a small desk big enough to hold maybe a notebook on, and not much else. He notices there is a door across the room and decides to go investigate what it is. When he opens the door he sees it is a small bathroom. It has a toilet and a small shower, barely big enough for someone to use. _Well it's nothing special, but I don't expect this tournament to last long for me._ Ares leaves his room to explore the facility so he has some idea as to what is where. He soon realizes that he probably should have grabbed the map off his desk, because everything looks the same. Every hallway is stark white with all the lights evenly spaced, and the doors are flesh with the walls so they are barely noticeable. Ares eventually finds a worker and asks if there is a training room and where to find it. After being given instructions Ares finds the training room and walks in. Upon entering he notices someone in the room and quickly recognizes who it is. It's Malcolm, the leader of the Thunder Crash team from the tournament. Malcolm sees Ares in the doorway and start to walk towards him. "Hey new guy, I heard you killed it during the training match and got picked early. That's pretty impressive to be honest. I hope to see you in the tournament one day. For now, make sure you stand out and try to have a personality that the crowd can cheer for. Malcolm leaves and Ares spends some time becoming more acquainted to all the weapons that are used in the tournament. After a few hours training he heads back to his room and goes to sleep, looking forward to the selection day.


End file.
